NEW DELHI: The govt on Thursday sought cooperation from Dhaka on the “core issue” of repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis in India. Speaking on the issue for the first time after Bengal poll results, MEA called on Bangladesh to expedite pending nationality verification of close to 3,000 individuals for smooth repatriation of illegal immigrants. “This requires cooperation… Over 2,862 cases of nationality verification are pending with Bangladesh, some for five years,” said MEA’s Randhir Jaiswal. India’s policy is that all illegal foreign nationals staying in India must be repatriated according to Indian laws, procedure and established bilateral arrangements. “We expect Bangladesh to expedite nationality verification so that repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place in a smooth manner,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The remarks came in response to media queries related to a social media post by Bangladesh’s foreign minister Khalilur Rahman on the issue Tuesday in which he said Dhaka will take action if there are any “push-in” incidents from the Indian side. “These comments must be seen in context of the core issue of repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis from India. This requires cooperation from Bangladesh,” Jaiswal said. He also responded to another question on possible cooperation between Bangladesh and China on the management of Teesta river. “…we have 54 rivers that the two countries share. We have structured bilateral mechanisms to discuss all water-related issues. These bilateral mechanisms continue to meet at regular intervals,” he said. Bangladesh’s BSS news agency reported Rahman, during his visit to China, had sought its involvement and support for the Teestaproject.